Great North Swim

The alarm went off at 6.30am this morning which was a bit of a shock to the system. Tea, porridge and nuts and I felt a bit more human!
Driving to the lake I felt so nervous. Even Madonna couldn't snap me out of it!
It's a bit of a walk from the car park to the race start and as we walked I got more and more anxious - I felt like I could hardly breathe! I was so much more nervous than last year!!
Luckily my start time wasn't too long after we got there so it was soon time to squeeze myself into my wetsuit, get into the acclimatisation pool and do the warm up with a few hundred others. Jigging about to Uptown Funk in a wetsuit led by Matthew Hoggard finally made me relax a bit! Hugs from Miss K and Mrs M and I felt much better!
The swim was lovely. Windermere is so beautiful and seeing it from the water - at a lovely leisurely pace - is magical. The clouds coming down over the surrounding hills, the swallows darting down to the water, the feeling of being part of something special.
I finished in 28 minutes and five seconds which surprisingly beat the time I got last year. It felt like I was much slower - just pootling round and taking it all in!
I got changed and waited for Miss K and Mrs M to finish their swims. They did brilliantly, putting me to shame! Then we rewarded ourselves with bacon rolls, pulled pork baps and tea before heading home.
The journey back was much better than the journey up. Miss K has a job interview tomorrow so we spent the time helping her to prepare. 
I did feel tired - I had a terrible night's sleep last night and then got up at the crack of dawn to swim in a lake! There were several stops for tea and coke to perk me up.
It was lovely to see the Little Misses and Mr K when I got home. They have had a great couple of days by the sounds of it - pamper parties, pizza and a trip to see Nanny. 
They were very proud of me and took turns wearing my medal.